The saxophonist considers himself a link not only between generations, through teaching, but also between cultures. Author: Mikel Espinosa Rodriguez

Yoswani Terry always knew that his path would be music. Perhaps this had something to do with the example of Don Pancho Terry, King of Chequere, his father, or the fact that his home in Florida (Camagüey) was a real “musical embassy” through which everyone, from Miguelito Cuni to the Aragonese orchestra, passed. or los they go they go

The truth is that there is a genuine sonic authenticity running through Yoswani’s veins, which can be felt in his interpretation of the saxophone and, above all, the checker, the indigenous African instrument that is Terry’s hallmark. This, combined with academic training first in Cuban art schools and then abroad, has made this 51-year-old Cuban artist a versatile artist, able to play in a wide variety of formats and at the same time produce exceptional work. teacher.

For about two decades, Yoswani has been building bridges through jazz between Cuba and the United States, the country where he lives and teaches as a professor of music at Harvard University, a job that takes no time for cultural projects. formatters who usually bring him to the Greater Antilles, so as not to lose touch with the artistic creativity of the country where he was born.

“Every time I visit, I try to absorb everything that happens with art in general and take its pulse, above all, the musical thermometer of the Havana scene. This is what you have to do as a musician to keep up with the times,” he says. Jr Cuban artist whose last visit was an opportunity to complete an educational joint project with Cuban artists dedicated to students of art schools.

“This is a project I have been developing for four years with Horns to Havanna, which promotes instrument donation to art schools and other cultural promotion efforts. The idea is to conduct jazz and popular music workshops with professional musicians so that students have such contact with the main aspects of creativity, especially popular music, which, unfortunately, are not common in their studies.

“It’s also important to bring improvisation into schools and see it as a means of getting all sorts of musical freedom and expression. Improvisation is not only found in jazz, it is also found in other genres such as Afro-Cuban music, in all popular traditions that come from Africa, something that needs to be learned and takes time to develop one’s own voice, ideas and control over an instrument that allows artistic and musical opinion,” reflects the Cuban professor and composer who, during his last trip, proposed a concert
open to art education students at the Abdala Studio along with other Cuban musicians such as his brother, double bassist Junior Terry, pianist Rolando Luna, drummer Oliver Valdez and others.

According to Yoswani Terry, “There is a generation of young performers who are trying to say musically, with a fairly high level of renewal and creativity. Even when many musicians come and go, choosing to live in different places, a new generation always arrives and fills the space.”

The saxophonist considers himself a link not only between generations through the teaching profession, but also between cultures. Terry, he says, sees education as a means to continue learning and growing as a musician. It seems that his creative desires are endless and this can be made clear in some of his phonograms such as Today’s opinion (2012) New Throne King (2014) or Memories of ancestors (2017), an album he shares with French pianist Baptiste Trotignon.

One can see how this creator perceives music as a journey that, with an instrument in hand, can take him to any destination in any format. This curiosity led him to take on projects such as the Bohemian Trio – piano, cello and saxophone – or the Atlantic Connections, based on poems written by poets from the African diaspora, as well as an opera he conceived of José Antonio Aponte.

Yosvani Terry is convinced that “the task of a composer is to see himself in different contexts. In my case, I am made from the training I received in Cuba with classical music, then Afro-Cuban culture and popular music came from my family. Then I studied composition and jazz, American and European music appeared. I have always liked music from all places. It is important for me to create projects that reflect the curiosity that captures me. So the Bohemian Trio, for example, is another opportunity to reinvent myself in a completely different context than what I usually do.”

depending on the music

“A musician, like a good artist, must always make himself dependent on music,” a belief that Yosvani Terry follows literally. There, Don Pancho Terry had a direct influence, an example for his children, in addition to music. “My father first taught us to be serious and disciplined. He then passed on to us the checker instrument, which represents the family and which we also know at a very early age. It is a benchmark in every sense, artistic and ethical,” says this musician, the current benchmark when it comes to the instrument his father popularized.

Yoswani says that when he and his brother decided to devote themselves to music, it was not easy for them. “We almost had to prove to our father that we wanted to be musicians, because he wanted to make sure that this was not a childish whim. He taught us all the rigor of a professional musician that we have always seen, every time he rehearsed at home, when he was a violinist in the Maravillas de Florida orchestra.

United by a percussion instrument, his father shone on the violin, Junior chose the double bass, and Yosvani on the saxophone. But it wasn’t until 2001, says the current Harvard professor, that he had the opportunity to develop the checkere, a sound that caught the interest of Israeli musician Avishai Cohen, who invited him to join The International Vamp Band. . The sound of the checkere hooked Cohen, as it is able to reach the most demanding and international audience.

– A kind of instrument, and complex, a checker, right?

— It looks simple, but when you try to play, you meet a challenge. First, the mesh that covers it. You have to time and know how the tool works in different places, and when you don’t know it, you have to invent it at different times. My father took the checkere with him to many places where it had never been heard before, but he also dabbled with it in Afro-Cuban jazz, in classical music, and in many places where he was called to work. I’m just following in his footsteps, trying to go further and connect cultures.

“Serving as a cultural bridge is one of the most powerful concepts that my father left us from his experience. From a young age, he taught us that musicians are musical ambassadors, people who are responsible for connecting countries, and this is one of the reasons why I try to keep researching, looking for new sounds, growing and trying to become a better musician. best person. Studying is the only way to keep growing and not stop in time.

Source: Juventud Rebelde